


Garrison Alliance

by SpicyTunaWings



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild S&M, Mild Sexual Content, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 10:56:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyTunaWings/pseuds/SpicyTunaWings
Summary: The return to Earth after a long intergalactic mission of the Galaxy Garrison's prized crew was not silver lined with splendor. Rather, Shiro and his crew are greeted by a hardly familiar wasteland. And what's worse, somebody followed them home.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Prologue Chapter

_"Entering the Atmosphere in T-minus fifteen seconds"_

Pidge rushed to her seat beside Hunk in the main hull of the Garrison Vessel and squirmed eagerly. After many years away from home she was finally going to see her family again. Shiro's voice over their communications was just making it so much more real. Her head pounded with adrenaline as she buckled herself in tight to her seat.

_"Nine"_

Shiro flicked a switch above his head, glancing out the cockpit window to welcome the promising sight of his familiar blue planet. He smiled at the thought of seeing all of the Garrison students again. He continued to bark out his countdown, anxiously waiting for...

_"One"_

The vessel began to shudder violently and grow hot. Shiro diverted most of the ship's power to vertical thrusters, slowing their descent exponentially and steadying the vehicle as the pilot continued the steady decline. Now that the ship was steady, his crew mates could rush around like ants preparing for landing. The door behind him rushed open with a soft mechanical hiss.

"Shiro. How much longer?" Keith approached the pilot from behind.

"Just a few minutes. We're right above the landing site." Shiro kept his hands on the steering mechanisms despite the ship being switched to autopilot during the entry into the atmosphere. Keith watched Shiro's soft but stern expression as the man stared out at the curved horizon of their home planet. He gave Shiro a light pat on the shoulder, muttered a simple 'we did it, Shiro' and departed the cockpit to assist Lance in preparing the cargo for admittance to the lab at the Garrison. They had loaded up all sorts of crystals and bacterial samples from their mission for the professors to take a look at.

A promising shake and a thud coursed through the ship as it touched down to sweet land. But Shiro didn't open the doors. Instead he summoned his crew to the cockpit with him. Something was wrong.

Keith was the first to see it.

Total ruin.

 

Shiro was standing, leaning against the console of the ship and staring out at the old Garrison campus. After a single glance, Pidge's heart sank and she grabbed onto his arm. Blood everywhere, but no bodies in sight. They couldn't stay in the ship forever, and they definitely couldn't go back to space. Not without food.

"You know, I-I think I might wanna stay here for this one guys." Hunk stammered. Keith gave him a look.

"No. We have to see if anyone in there is okay. And we gotta do it as a team, alright?"

"Alright..." Pidge echoed, staring blankly out the window. Keith took initiative to flick a few switches to open the ship's exit and led Lance and Hunk away. Pidge tugged on Shiro's arm. He glanced back and upon realizing the other boys had left, he hastily followed Pidge outside. The small team of astro-explorers surveyed the crumbling campus, windows broken and vehicles destroyed. Lance timidly stepped behind hunk, who trailed close to Keith as Shiro stepped through the broken glass front door. Pidge kept her hand on a stun gun she picked up off the ground and stuck in her pocket.

All of the lights were out. Paper and boxes were scattered in the hallways and windows were broken and blood stained the walls. It was burning hot in the building. The air conditioning had been broken down, it seemed. Shiro wiped the sweat from his forehead and licked his dry lips nervously. He had bit into his bottom lip a little too hard, and the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. He froze at the sound of something stumbling around just around the corner to the right. Pidge squeezed his arm tighter and shuffled closer to him.

"Stay here..." Shiro whispered. Pidge went back to huddle up with the other boys as Shiro stepped forward and looked around the corner. "It's okay, Guys. It's just Iverson..."

Pidge let out a heavy sigh of relief, which quickly turned to a terrorized shriek as the supposed Iverson launched himself at Shiro, Slamming him against the wall and locking his teeth onto the pilot's throat. Shiro screamed and struggled. Blood oozed from his throat and his mouth as Iverson thrashed his head, tearing at Shiro's soft flesh with sickening tearing noises. Shiro tried to grab onto his attacker, but Iverson just latched onto his arm. Keith launched himself at Iverson and both tumbled back. Their was a nauseating pop that rang through the building as Iverson refused to let go of the arm, tearing it clean off of Shiro's body. Keith held the zombie down. It scratched at his arms and stomach as Keith tried to strangle it. It suddenly convulsed and shook as Pidge had gotten the nerve to shoot at it with her Stun gun. It was stunned for now. She ran to Shiro's side and kneeled by him, and Keith retreated to return to Hunk and Lance.

"Shiro!" Pidge cried. A strange, sad sound gurgled from his throat and he shook violently. She pulled him close to her, tears filling her eyes as his hot blood stained her uniform and soaked her skin. She kept holding him, rocking back and forth whispering his name begging him to 'please don't go' Telling him he was going to be okay, and that she's got him, and that... She sobbed. There was no use. He was gone. And she blamed Iverson, who was still stunned but slowly coming out of it. She rose to her feet and approached it... She couldn't even call it Iverson anymore. It wasn't human. She swung her leg forward and kicked it as hard as she could in the face. She got dizzy. She started seeing red. She screamed.

"You _FUCKING_ piece of _GARBAGE!!!"_ She kicked it again. She stepped closer. She raised her foot and slammed it down on it's head. With every stomp, she damned Iverson to hell though he was already dead. She screamed again. "FUCKING DIE ALREADY!!!" her voice cracked on the word 'die' and her eyes filled with some wrathful vengeance that rang through her body as she brought her foot down harder and harder on its head. Her booted foot went straight through its skull and blood sprayed everywhere within a few feet, splattering onto her face and clothes and glasses. She was shaking nearly as vigorously as Shiro was before he-

She started to cry again. She wailed a long, shrill note into the stillness and let the tears wash away the blood on her cheeks. This wasn't the earth she wanted to return to. She wanted to come home to a world where all of her friends were alive and healthy and where Iverson was still scolding Lance and Hunk for wandering out late at night, where she would go home and enjoy a nice meal with her mom and dad and brother and dog... She wondered if Hunk and Lance were thinking the same thing. She wanted to turn around and go and hug them but she couldn't. Not after what she just did to Iverson, zombie or not. She felt small and isolated. Like she was tumbling into an abyss, endlessly falling. She imagined someone was calling her name. She opened her eyes. Someone WAS calling her name. It was Hunk.

"Pidge, behind you!" he yelled out. She looked behind her. Shiro had stood up. His eyes were milky white and the gaping hole was left in his throat, and the torn flesh at his arm. He was staring directly at her. She felt sick. Someone screamed 'Run' and Pidge bolted towards her friends, glancing at Shiro once more before locking herself in a janitor's closet with the three boys. Lance found a flashlight and flicked it on. They always had spares in here just in case. He used to sneak in and steal them to look for things out in the desert at night. Keith was bloodied up badly and he looked even paler than normal. She could see the blue and red in his veins through the skin on his face. He looked terribly ill.

"This is zombies guys, we're in the apocalypse" Hunk whispered in fright, frantic and afraid. "I thought this only happened in the movies guys" He did all he could to keep himself from crying.

"But if..." Keith groaned. "If it's anything like the movies..."

Lance's eyes widened.

"Keith's got the virus!"

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance huddled up in the farthest corner from Keith, who looked hurt.

"No but I... I'd never hurt you..." He croaked sadly. "Guys, you gotta believe me..." He reached for them. Pidge whipped out her stun gun. Keith froze and shrunk back to his corner.

"Fine..." He muttered under his breath.

A sudden bang on the door made all four of them jump in fright. Keith scrambled over to the other three, away from the door and they didn't seem to mind anymore. The door creaked. Something strong was prying it open. A gloved hand poked through the crack in the door and forced it open, And milky eyed, one armed, torn up Shiro stood in the doorframe. Pidge squealed and cowered into the huddle of boys.

"Use the Stun gun!" Keith screamed at her. She shook her head violently.

"I don't want to hurt him!"

"He's GONE, Katie, that isn't Shiro anymore!"

"No! No, He's still there!" Pidge sobbed. Shiro stumbled closer. She shook her head more, not wanting to believe her blurry eyes for a second, wanting to wake up in her bedroom at the Garrison to a normal day and walk down to the cafeteria and sit with Hunk and Lance and Keith and Shiro and have a normal meal with her friends, watch Iverson scold Lance and Matt and Hunk for screwing around, And her dad make faces at him while his back was turned and put peas in his hat when he wasn't paying attention...

He was probably gone too... Her dad, Matt, mom, her dog Rover... Casper, her girl best friend... The really nice lunch lady who always knew what Pidge wanted, The astrology teacher... For all she knew they were all gone. And now Shiro was gone and Keith was going. Her trance cleared and she was shakily aiming the stun gun at Shiro, who came closer with every frantic beat of her heart. She pulled the trigger. The barbed wires launched themselves at Shiro and sent a whopping 500,000 volts through his body. He twitched and gurgled and fell to his side... Pidge dropped the stun gun and crawled over to him, covering his body with her own in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry Shiro..." She choked out. She sobbed into his clothes and clung tighter.

_"I'm so sorry."_


	2. Cherries

-Two Months Later-

Pidge was replacing bandages. More specifically, The bandages on Shiro's neck. Her eyes were dull and sad, the cold of his skin and the absence of a pulse on his neck a terrible reminder that he wasn't alive. He squirmed and tired to get away.

"Hold still, Shiro." Pidge said softly. She pulled at the rope around his good arm. The bandages didn't do anything, she just needed to hide the nasty rotting wound on his throat. She didn't want to see him like this day in and day out. She wanted to trick herself into thinking he was okay. She envied Lance so much... Keith was surprisingly tolerant over the past months, and hadn't lost his mind or pulse. Just gone paler and refused to eat cooked foods, settling for the flesh of corpses instead. He was a zombie, he just didn't act the part most of the time. Meanwhile Shiro was left just a mindless drone. A pet. A dog on a leash. And Pidge hated the way it was. Shiro had to wear a dumb mask and a dumb glove and a dumb leash to keep him from biting or scratching or wandering of, and Keith was just free as a bird.

She tied off the bandage and led Shiro back into the abandoned factory they called home. A fire crackled with the scent of burning wood and plastic and rubber, giving the whole Garrison Clan a massive headache. That's what the five- or four of them- called themselves. They were what was left of the Galaxy Garrison and they were going to BE the Garrison. She sat down on a tire next to the burning rubbish and watched the flames flicker and glow, seeing the silhouettes of Hunk, Lance, and Keith on the other side.

Her head tickled. Shiro was playing with her hair, running his fingers through it and threading it into his mask to chew on it. She let him. She couldn't deny him like the boys did. He was still her Shiro. She took a small glance back at him and stared into his pale eyes. They were so white at this point she couldn't tell what he was looking at. She felt like he was staring at her, or rather hoped he was. She wanted him to see her. To watch her. She let down her long ponytail and nearly giggled as Shiro completely buried his face in her brown locks, but was too tired and upset. All she managed was a forced smile.

Lance combed through his hair. It was getting longer, and he had no means or desire to cut it. Keith had taken a liking to it, and if he didn't know any better Lance would even go as far as to say Keith liked him. He occasionally caught Keith staring at him, in which case he would try to get away with the grope of an asscheek, usually rewarded with the slap of a Keith hand to the face cheeks. He chuckled softly. Rubbed his hand along his stubbly chin. Looked over at Hunk's Stubbly chin. Looked over at Keith's stubbly chin. They were stubble brothers for life now, he and hunk decided, and they would grow huge bushy wizard beards together and shave them off if one of them died. It was only a joke, of course. A futile attempt to keep the mood in their little hideout a little lighter. To make them forget about everything that happened.

Everything...

The boys were too thin by this time. Hunk barely weighed half of what he used to. When they found this factory a week prior, they were delighted to find a massive storage of canned goods and frozen meats and stale bread and coffee and water. Keith only ever took the frozen meat, or the flesh of a dead animal if he could. And She wasn't supposed to, but Every night Pidge would take Shiro's mask off and hand feed him a bowl of beans or soup. She would sneak small kisses over his cold face and cry every time on his shoulder, sometimes wishing he would just crunch into her shoulder and end this nightmare for her. But he never did. He never hurt her. Hunk credited it to the non-human-flesh diet that Pidge kept him on, but she would deny it. Just so she could imagine Shiro was still in there.

"Let me dream, Hunk." She'd beg him in a dry voice, time after time. She didn't want the shit she got from them.

Keith: "He's going to snap one day and eat us all alive"

Lance: "He smells bad. And he slows us down."

Hunk: "He's dead and you're feeding him. We could be using our food source on the four of us."

They would all try to convince her to let him go.

"This whole thing has turned you all into big hairy cunts, you know that?" Pidge called from across the fire. Hunk looked up.

"Look, Pidge, we don't-"

"Don't what? Don't want me to keep our best friend around and cling to hope?"

"That's not it, we-"

"He matters too you know. No matter what you say he's still _MY_ Shiro."

"Pidge, He's way too old-"

"Just shut the fuck up, Hunk. I doubt you'd like it very much if Shay was turned."

Hunk fell silent.

"Shark week?" Lance mumbled. Pidge threatened him with her stun gun.

" **I haven't had my period since that lake incident, Lance"**

"Okay, okay just...  joking..."

Pidge pulled Shiro to his feet, announced she was going for a walk, and turned and strode away. She knew she shouldn't be bitter with her friends, it was just so hard when it seemed like they had all abandoned Shiro and left her alone to help him fight. A zombie and a scrawny 16 year old girl. Against what, Aliens? Pirates? No. Against their home. Like as soon as they turned their backs, everything had gone to shit. Her suicide threats were probably the only things making the boys keep her and Shiro around anymore, if she was honest. And the upsetting part would be that she was serious every time she said she wanted to make Shiro bite her, or leap from the roof or throw herself into the fire or into the lake...

She realized she was crying when a cold gloved hand touched her face and wiped her pouring tears away with a shaking thumb. She faked a half-hearted smile for him, carefully studying the concerned crease in his forehead, his downturned brows and his blood crusted frown. She unclipped his mask and hung it on her belt, pulling out a can of peaches and cracking it open with a Swiss knife.

"I'm okay, Shiro..." She lied through a croaky voice. He grabbed her face and turned her head, squishing her cheeks as he bumped their foreheads together and made a desperate raspy noise,  like he was trying to speak. Pidge choked out a sob and closed her eyes. "I know I'm sorry I shouldn't have cowered back there... in the Garrison. I never should have, I should have trusted you and now you're gone and it's my fault, I could've saved you or taken your place, it should have been me, I-"

"Shhhhh...." The only sound that Shiro could manage anymore. It silenced her as a hand ran through her hair. She thought he was being sweet. She hugged him. He leaned down and sniffed the peaches, sitting upright again and opening his mouth like a baby bird.

"Mm... You're hungry..." Pidge smiled softly. Taking care of her zombie was all she could do to keep herself alive these days. She reached a pair of fingers in to grab a slice of the slick fruit drowned in syrup, and held it teasingly above Shiro's head. He reached his arm up to pull her hand down and ate the sweet straight from her hand, licking the sticky juices from her fingers but not once biting her.

"The other guys think you just don't like to eat people cause I don't let you. I know better." She said, ruffling his hair with her free hand.

"Mm." Shiro gave her bright white puppy dog eyes. She gave him another slice of fruit and combed his hair.

"You're still here, right?"

"Mmmm" Another begging face. another slice of Peach.

"I mean you promised you would never leave me." She tied his hair in a loose ponytail, looking through the patch of grey that had shown up ever since he was turned. "You need a bath."

"Mm!" He begged. Pidge looked down at the can.

"Last one." She gave it to him, watched him swallow it whole, and giggled when he made his puppy dog face for more. "That was the last one, You want the juice?"

Shiro eagerly grabbed at the can and raised it to his mouth, tilting it too high as he drank greedily, syrupy juice running down from the corners of his mouth. Pidge watched him. _"He's like a big baby..."_ She thought as she stared sadly and fondly at him. He threw the empty can, only landing it a couple feet away.

"That was better than last time." Pidge encouraged him. "You're getting stronger again." Shiro grunted in response, staring out at the lake. Pidge paused for a moment, then grabbed his hand and stood up.

"Come on, you need a bath." All that blood on his face, the blood on his shoulder and neck, it was all from their homecoming. Shiro hadn't let her take him near water. She didn't think he knew how to swim anymore. Shiro curled his knees in tighter and shook his head.

"Shiro, you smell like a zoo and your hair is terrible. You need a bath." He shook his head again. "Shiro get up you aren't getting out of this."

Shiro flopped onto his side and ducked his head between his knees, Groaning in protest. Pidge pulled at his arm, dragging him across the gravel for a few moments before she knelt down by him and tilted her head to the side.

"I'll get you cherries." She cooed. Shiro sat up at the mention of cherries, and let pidge lead him to the edge of the lake. She patted a rock.

"Sit." She smiled. Shiro obediently sat down and watched her kneel in front of him and unlace his boots. She pulled them off with great effort. The coarse sand and the cool breeze felt nice between his toes as he wriggled them slowly. He Cried out briefly as his vision went black and his body felt colder. Pidge laid his shirt and boots on another rock and took off her belt and jacket, tying her hair up and tucking her tank top into her shorts.

"Come on, I'll teach you how to swim." She was already wading in the water. She splashed in it with her hands slightly. "See it feels nice, come on." Shiro stood and clumsily stumbled towards her, freezing up as soon as his feet touched the ice cold water. It sent shivers up his spine and made the baby hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Pidge grabbed his hand. She pulled him deeper into the lake. The water climbed up to his knees and it was harder to move in the denser than air material. She pulled him deeper. The water was to his stomach. And suddenly on his head. He flinched.

"It's okay, its just me." Pidge cupped her hands in the water and poured another handful over his head. he looked up to watch the water. It trickled down his face and into his eyes, not seeming to bother him. He licked the small streams of water from his face. Pidge swished a cloth in the water and brought it up to scrub the dirt and juice and blood from his face, gingerly brushing over the fragile skin like he were a flower in a garden. The only flower. A beautiful black rose, wilting in the winter as she makes desperate attempts to keep it alive and somehow, it doesn't crumble. She scrubbed his hand and arm and fingers and shoulder and his body. carefully cleaning the part of his shoulder where his right arm was torn off. He watched her focused face as she adjusted her glasses.

"Come here." Pidge pushed Shiro onto his back, holding him at the water's surface with her arms. When he squirmed she shushed him. "It's okay, just breathe, you'll float on your own." He closed his eyes. Looking down at him reminded her of a conversation they had struck up back at the Garrison before their mission.

\---

_"When I die, I want all of the information in my head stored in a giant ship." Lance fantasized. Matt raised an index finger._

_"I want to be freeze dried and made into a tree." He laughed. His dad cut in._

_"Is it possible to be made into a pea plant with that method?" The table rumbled with the group's laughter. Except for Shiro._

_"When I go, I want to have a funeral like my dad's and be floated out onto a lake and just let my body stay where it sinks."_

_\---_

A tear fell into the water. Pidge wiped her eyes. Shiro's body was light in the water now, and she let him go. He seemed to not notice until Pidge clapped softly for him and he thrashed, frightened even though he was still in waters shallow enough for him to stand. Pidge laughed. Shiro tilted his head and opened his mouth.

"Ah." Trying to mimic the sound of laughter.

"No, no" Pidge laughed. "It's 'Ha' not 'Ah' you sound like the count from sesame street!"

"Ha."

"Yes!" She applauded. "Do it again!"

"Hngh- H-" He burst into a coughing fit. Pidge's smile faded.

"It's okay. We should head back to the factory now, huh? I still have to get you those cherries."

\---

"They sure have been gone a while." Lance fretted. He looked at Keith. Hunk was sleeping in a makeshift hammock so that 'the spiders couldn't crawl on him'.

Keith shrugged.

"I bet they're fine. To be fair, Pidge is really pretty good at keeping him in check." Keith stared out at the forest, his eyes glazed over in a thin white layer, light enough to see his irises and pupils beneath them. His skin was so pale and thin that Lance could see the blue and red veins in his cheeks and arms. Why hadn't he completely fallen to the sickness? It had been asked enough times already. Hunk and Pidge wrote it off as genetic, a natural immunity to it- for the most part.

"Hunk said he picked up some radio frequencies today. Do you think there are other people out there?"

"Well, yeah. It's a huge world and there's bound to be a whole lot of survivors, don't you think?"

"I guess, it's just..." Lance shuffled in his seat. "We've been gone for two years, what do you think happened to them?"

"Zombies. It might have been an engineered virus though, I don't know. Biochemical warfare? Tensions were pretty tight between America and the east when we left."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just really want to know EXACTLY what happened. I'm not satisfied with just theories."

"Yeah I get you. I hate it just as much as the rest of us. But I guess we should just go off of what we know and do our best to keep ourselves alive out here." Keith huddled tighter into his tattered jacket and shivered. Lance watched him, then slipped his own coat off his shoulders and covered Keith with it.

"What are you-"

"You're sick. You need it more than me." Lance just stared out at the sky beyond the line of trees. "You find anything today out in those shacks?"

"Few loaves of moldy bread and an empty revolver."

"Not even a knife?"

"No."

"Mierda..." Lance hissed. "No firewood or anything?"

"Unless you count the floorboards. I can go pull those up in the morning when I go back."

"Thanks Keith."

"No problem." Keith stared at the fire. The dancing of the flames never ceased to amaze him, to woo him into a trance with its lovely glow and warmth. But always brought back memories of that first attack... All he remembered was his mother screaming for him to come downstairs and get in the basement, then waking up in a hospital bed- an orphan.

"You guys are soaking wet, Didn't we tell you not to go in the lake during the night time or you'll get hypothermia!?" Keith looked up at the sound of Lance's voice. Pidge was leading Shiro back inside, with his mask on his face and the rope round his wrist once more. Hunk stirred behind Lance and Keith from his sleep.

"Guys what's going on..." he groaned. "Oh. Hey Pidge."

Pidge gave them each a bitter look.

"Hey."

"Hhhhh..." Shiro struggled to form the word, with his damaged throat. The camp fell quiet, until Hunk whispered a tiny

"Hello Shiro."

Shiro smiled at Pidge, almost as if to say 'See, we just have to give them time' and then ran off to the food pantry to find his precious cherries.

"Where is he going?" Hunk asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I promised him cherries if he let me give him a bath." She ran after her zombie before the other boys could say anything that would hurt her.

Hunk turned on his radio he'd fixed and listened in on the last remaining music station that he knew of, run by a group of survivors called the "Inspirers". They only ever played Michael Jackson or Tejano star Selena. Any time 'Como La Flor' came on, Lance would try to convince Keith to dance with him.

"Hey Keith." Lance was looking at him with a smirk. He began to sing with the staticky radio. "Como la flor..." Keith rolled his eyes and turned away. "Con tanto amor..." Lance grabbed his hand and tugged. "Me diste tú..." Keith had heard the song enough times to know it by heart.

"Se marchitó.." He mumbled in time with Lance. Lance beamed from ear to ear and pulled Keith to his feet.

"I knew you had it in you, you fuckin beast."

"Fuck you."

"When, where, how hard?"

Keith choked.

"Lance, WHAT!?"

Hunk and Lance were laughing till they were light headed.

"I mean I can suck it right now if you want!" Lance managed between laughs. Keith blushed through his pale skin.

"Stop it Lance, That's gay."

"You're gay!" Lance countered. "And a bird brain! I would rather be a gay mermaid than a gay bird!"

"Fine, then you're a gay fish then!"

"And I am PROUD of that! My first day of swimming they called me Lance 'The Dolphin' McClain!"

"Nah bro, you're tuna." Keith rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on guys, now I want a tuna sandwich." Hunk whined.

"Don't worry, man, we'll get you your tuna sandwich someday."

"Can that someday be in like twenty minutes cause I'm hungry."

"We don't have tuna."

"I know." Hunk pouted. The room was silent for a while. "Do you guys ever think we're a bit to harsh about Shiro? I mean I know he tried to kill us just last month but Pidge had him locked in the garage until he calmed down, and he hasn't eaten her yet. Have you seen those two? He's like a pet or something, It's kind of gross but Pidge has been getting really torn up about it. Like what if, I don't know, She's right and some of Shiro is still there?"

Lance looked down at his feet. Keith busied himself with tending the fire, not wanting to be part of this conversation.

"I guess, but... We just- don't know if he's safe or not, you know? If one of us got infected by him..."

"Well, Keith's infected too, Lance."

"Keith still has a brain between his ears. He can walk and talk just like any normal person."

"Yeah but he eats dead animals, at least Shiro eats like a person."

"A baby person. Besides, we eat dead animals too."

"Not raw, rotting guts that've been left out in the wild for who knows how long, with all the blood still in it and, eugh." Hunk shuddered at the thought. "I'm gonna be sick..."

"Guys, they're back." Keith called. Pidge and Shiro walked into their little main room, Shiro looking rather giddy despite his current state.

"He... Really likes his cherries, doesn't he?" Keith asked.

"Yeah he almost ate the whole jar but he was gonna get sick to his stomach so I had to make sure he didn't eat it all in one sitting, Didn't I Shiro?"

"Ew Gross. Quit baby talking him, Pidge, He's older than you and he's a zombie."

"Shut up and go to bed Lance."

"Maybe it's a phase..." Lance muttered. Pidge gave him a look and swept her bangs over her eye.

"It's not a phase, mom, it's who I am!" She whined in a deep voice. She and the boys laughed, and she looked back when she heard a low chuckle- the best laugh Shiro could manage. "Let's go to bed guys." She crawled into her little tent made from torn up tarp and a worn quilt, and curled up under a bunch of Jackets and blankets. Shiro sat just outside. He never slept, he always kept watch over them. She closed her eyes and listened to the fire crackling and Hunk snoring softly, and the crickets and Shiro's soft Shushing slowly lulled her to sleep.

Pidge woke with a headache. The sun wasn't up yet. In fact, the fire was still alight. She peeked out of her tent. Keith, Lance, and Hunk were asleep still. She looked around and whispered.

"Shiro?" He had a tendency to wander into the pantry for a treat at night. She got up, a jacket wrapped around her, and tiptoed to the pantry. Still shut tight. Her heart thumped a little harder. Maybe she just missed him behind her tent? She quickly made her way back to the tent and looked around behind it, on the shelves above it where he liked to relax, behind the racks of tires and parts, until she found his rope on the floor just by a door to the outside, which was open.

"Shit, Shiro no!" She whisper shouted and ran into the forest, grabbing a lamp from the rack on her way out and turning it on, looking for something to track him by as she disappeared barefooted into the forest.


	3. Bun

Pidge sat on a rock and rubbed at her bloodied, aching feet. She would've gone back to get help, but she was hopelessly lost. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her and hugged her knees. She stared at the tiny flame flickering in the lantern she snatched on her way out and sniffled. She plucked a thorn from between her toes, wincing at the harsh pinch of the large splinter leaving a perforation in her skin.

_ I have to keep moving. _

Pidge slowly rose to her feet and picked up her lantern, trudging on through the forest, looking around cautiously as the gentle breeze rustled leaves and branches. She swallowed hard, her throat burning from calling out for Shiro. She had been walking for hours, and it was still dark out. Her fingers were numb and her mouth was dry. The crisp air stung her nostrils with every breath. She rubbed at her tired eyes and yawned painfully. She nearly tripped on the root of an exceptionally tall tree. The leaves rustled above her and a shrill growl echoed from the branches. Pidge took a step back, eyes now wide and alert.

"Shiro?"

No, not Shiro. A small form fell like a stone to the forest floor with a soft thud. A Child. Pidge stepped closer.

"Hello? Are you okay?" She cooed softly. The child didn't look more than eight years old. He looked up at her. The telltale signs of a virus were prominent on his face. His skin was pale and the corner of his mouth was rotting, an eye missing from its socket, scratches all over his arms and his clothes tattered. The child groaned harshly and reached for her ankle. She yelped and jumped back. The boy got up on all fours and ran to her like a dog, grabbing her leg and tripping her. She screamed. The child already had her thin leg in his mouth but... She didn't bleed. She sat up. The kid kept gumming at her calf, not making a dent in her skin.

"You have no teeth."

A soft trill echoed from the boy's nose and throat. He didn't actually look like he was trying to be vicious at all. His eye was wide and his lips were curled up into a wide smile, slobber dripping down his chin. His hair was a messy dark brown, matted with blood and sap and sweat. A pang of sympathy hit her chest. She gently touched the boy's head. His hair was stiff and greasy and overall unpleasant. She stood up, held the little boy's hand. He chewed on his other hand absently. That was it. She was insane. A sixteen year old survivor, feeling a burning need to protect a dead eight year old. Maybe it would be best if she died out here in the forest.

The boy suddenly squirmed from her hand and leapt into a bush, surfacing only moments later holding up a rabbit by its ears.

"BUN" he screeched. Bunny. Pidge smiled softly and nodded.

"Yep."

"BUN"

"Bun." Pidge echoed softly. She decided that was what she'd call him from that point on. "Look, Bun, I have to find my friend."

Bun scampered to her side and dropped the rabbit. It scurried away at the first chance it had. Bun just watched it go with a sad look. Pidge knelt down and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. He crawled over her shoulders and clung to her back like a backpack. He chewed on her hair, reminding her of Shiro. Her determination to find him grew stronger. She continued forward, following the new orange silhouette of dawn. The light warmed her cheeks as she seemingly neared the edge of the forest. She blinked in the new light as the trees parted to reveal a small town. A glint off a metal surface caught her eye, and she glanced down, kneeling to pick up the small chain.

_ Shirogane Takashi _

_ 26th Discovery Squad _

_ Exploration Captain _

_ Shuttle ID 062516 _

Shiro's tags. Her heart sunk. He was here, but was he here in one piece? She tucked the dog tags into her pocket, tied her Jacket around her waist, and sped into the small town. She would stop at every building to search for him. Bun jumped off of her and ran to the nearest house, chirping awkwardly. Pidge jogged over, skipping two of the stairs to the porch as she approached. The door was already open, and Bun had slipped inside, looking for something to eat or play with. Pidge stepped carefully, avoiding broken glass and splintered wood. Bun noisily rummaged through the kitchen, dropping pots and pans and mugs on the tile floor. Pidge glanced at him, then turned to a living room. A lamp was still on. There was a brick fireplace to the left, a steel fire poker leaning invitingly on the wall. She picked it up and smacked it gently into her opposite palm a couple of times. A second glance around the room revealed a small bottle of water, a pack of gauze, and a pair of too-big military boots.

"Hey Bun. come over here, we're going upstairs."

Like a puppy, Bun leapt to his feet and bounded up the stairs, Pidge following him after pulling on the boots. She skipped steps, listening to the soft zombie grunts as she walked into the only room on the second floor. The room was entirely empty, save for an old laptop and a small Tupperware filled with peas. Pidge immediately thought of her dad, smiled, and picked up the Tupperware. The closet to the left was open. a stack of blankets and pillowcases sat on the highest shelf. Medicines, bandaids, and ointments on the shelf below it, and on the floor was a large green backpack with a small hole in one of the pockets. She picked it up and shook it, groaning in disgust when a scorpion fell with a thud to the floor and Bun pounced on it, catching it delicately. Pidge took the rather small supply of medicines, the least torn up blanket, and the laptop, stuffing all of them into the different sections of the bag with some difficulty. She stood and puffed out her chest, just to boost her confidence as she let out a long breath.

"Okay, Bun. Let's go find Shiro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I now have an Instagram for my Fanfics, and after this book will be a fic called Lionheart that my friends and I came up with.  
> Instagram is Spicytunawings ^-^  
> sorry about the short chapter. I'm hitting a little fit of depression that's holding me back a bit.


	4. Over The Wall

"You're sure you'll be fine all alone, Hunk?" Lance slung a bag over his shoulder. After Pidge mysteriously disappeared, with Shiro no less, Hunk had begun to panic. He wasn't sure leaving his jumpy friend behind was a good idea. But Hunk insisted he stay.

"No I'm fine. I would just be dead weight anyway and we know you cant pack enough food for me." His half-hearted joke went unnoticed. He sat and poked at the fire with a metal rod, giving the other two young men a vague smile before he watched them leave.

Lance stayed a few paces behind Keith. The part-zombie had an acute sense of smell and direction. He would be leading Lance on their search party. Lance stared at Keith's man-bunned hair from behind. The hair was pulled up high, and Lance could see the matted hairs on the back of his clearly sore neck, and the blue veins criss-crossing in every which way. He licked his own dry, cracked lips and ran a hand through his bangs. Unlike Keith, Lance preferred a more tidy look, keeping his hair in a neat braid that barely reached shoulder-length and letting his bangs fall out of the hairdo and into his face. And he wouldn't dare touch the stubble. No. That was his and the boys' thing. 'Stubble brothers for life', Hunk would say when the situation warranted. Hunk and his classic ponytail. Lance was beginning to regret leaving Hunk behind. He nearly ran into Keith as the boy came to a sudden halt.

"Hey. Why did we stop?" Lance questioned quietly. The wary look on Keith's face couldn't mean anything good.

"Zombie. I mean, there was one. Other than Shiro. The scent is about as fresh as Pidge's."

"You think she's-"

"Been turned. Yeah. Shiro's scent is older though so that would mean he left before her."

"Dumb girl went looking for her pet zombie?"

Keith cast a glance to Lance. If Shiro was just a pet to pidge, Then what was Keith to Lance? It was almost like Lance read his mind.

"Look, at least you can control yourself, Keith. As far as i'm concerned, He isn't even a person anymore."

"Pidge would kill you if she heard you say that." Keith turned and continued walking. The leaves and sticks and dried grass crunched under his bare feet. His inner thermostat had stopped working, so as it got hotter or colder he would add or strip himself of layers of clothing respectively to maintain an okay body temperature. It was the peak of summertime, so the boy kept his shirt and shoes in his bag, wearing only shorts.

The trees began to grow more sparse, and the Sun beat down hard on the two as they trekked towards an opening in the forest. A small town. The doors of every house and shop were left open, and upon further inspection had clearly been looted of anything useful. By Pidge or someone else, Neither were sure. Keith said he smelled a lot of things in this little town, car fuel being the most notable and a hint of Pidge's scent lingering in an opened garage.

\-----------

The smell of zombie in the next town over was nearly overwhelming. But someone had definitely been through here with a car. The scent of gasoline and the trail of run-over zombies in the road led to a guess by Lance that Pidge had just driven right through, though Keith couldn't smell her at all and the young girl didn't know how to drive. (Yet, Pidge had insisted years earlier it cant be much different from go-karts, considering how lifelike the flying simulators at the garrison were.) Lance remained optimistic.

As optimistic as you can get, walking through a street though a town filled with Zombies, armed with nothing but an aluminum baseball bat and a friendly zombie. Keith wasn't even friendly, either. He just hated Lance, Hunk, and Pidge the least. At least, that was what he insisted when he _wasn't_ being stubble brothers for life with Lance and Hunk.

Lance glanced around uneasily. The zombies seemed to be watching them with their pearly eyes. Most of them limped or crawled slowly after them. Others hung back and just watched.

One darted right up and tripped Lance, dragging him on the ground until Keith slammed an empty bottle on its head and pulled Lance to his feet. Some of the other zombies began to run after them, even the ones with the slow limps. Keith shivered. They weren't handicapped, they were _waiting._ Zombies dragged themselves in front of the boys. Lance began to sweat in panic. It was like these beasts knew the streets. Like they were sentient. Like they _could_ control themselves to an extent, with one end goal. Food. And Lance specifically was the food. The zombies couldn't give any less shits about Keith. As far as they were concerned, he was just a Weird zombie. Other than that, their intelligence seemed to be exceeding that of a classic movie zombie.

Keith turned in between two buildings. He and lance would cut through behind the houses and leave the town through a side road. After they scaled the brick wall coming up. The brick wall lined at the top with pigeon-proofing spikes. The brick wall with just another brick wall of a tall building just beyond it. Or maybe they would just turn back. A glance behind them, zombies were already spilling into the alleyway, slower now. Like they were less concerned about their meal getting away. Keith stopped at the wall.

"Lance. Climb up on my shoulders and jump over that wall."

"Are you crazy!?"

"Yes, just do it!" Keith snapped. Lance clamped his mouth shut and watched Keith get on his knees, facing away from him. He was going to give him a boost up. He was going to help him over and stay there to face a hundred dead men.

"Keith, I can't do it."

"Pussy."

"What?"

"You're a pussy, just go over the damn wall!"

Lance stepped up onto Keith's shoulders, trusting that Keith had a plan to save himself as he slowly stood up, balancing Lance precariously on his shoulders. Lance wobbled, holding his arms out for balance.

"Jump!" Keith barked harshly. Lance put a foot on the tiny space free of pigeon spikes and leapt over the wall, Shrieking in terror as he realized too late that the drop on the other side was farther than expected. He landed on his back with a crack onto subway train tracks. He groaned helplessly, trying to catch his breath. His vision was blurred too bad for him to distinguish the figures around him. He heard Keith cry out in fear as he realized his grave mistake, and the muffled sound of him calling out.

Keith pushed a zombie against the wall, dreading the outcome of Lance's Fall. He jumped onto the creature and vaulted himself over the wall, skinning his chest and legs on the spikes. He waved his arms as he took his tumble, barely landing on his feet and rolling a few yards away, hitting his head on a piece of metal. His ears rung. No that wasn't his ears ringing. It melted into Lance screaming. Agony, Fear. Keith bolted upright. A group of zombies who had been down here had made their way to Lance. Keith scrambled to his feet, picking up Lance's metal bat as he charged clumsily towards them. He slammed one in the head, kicking away the one who had sunken her teeth in Lance's side and stomping out the young one who scratched at Lance's leg. An inhuman noise rumbled from his throat, and the frightened zombies gave him a terrified look and scampered away. Keith nearly went after them, his blood boiling and body rearing to get a good swipe at one of them. A punch. Or scratch. Or a bite. Blood. He wanted blood.

"Keith..." a small voice choked out. Keith snapped back into the present, whirling around to look at Lance. He whined in fright and dropped to his knees beside him. He pulled the weak boy into his lap and held a hand firmly on the bite marks on his side. Lance cried out in pain and squirmed in protest.

"No, no.. Lance, I know it hurts, just-" Keith began to cry. "Just hold on, you're gonna be okay." He brushed Lance's bangs away from his face. Lance's eyes looked heavy and already pale. His skin was losing its lively copper color and his tiny sobs became more and more like unintelligible groans. Keith rocked him and shushed him, holding Lance's head to his chest with one hand and holding the bite with the other.

_"You're okay"_

_"You're okay"_

Keith kept repeating it in rapid succession, clinging tightly to Lance. His Lance. This human was his. He claimed him. He had marked him. They ignored the mark, why did they ignore the mark? That scratch on Lance's perfect cheek, it was his. Lance's perfect body was his. His perfect demeanor belonged to Keith. Those cracking, downturned lips...

Keith kissed them.

_They were his._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I already have another concept for a THIRD voltron fic, which will come after Lionheart. Be sure to follow my Instagram @spicytunawings for tiny sneak peeks, concept art, drawings, and more.


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